OK table hockey friends, I want to hear about your experiences with a league member or opponent who when he or she is playing poorly or losing, abuses the table. For example. Putting a hole in the ice by throwing a puck at it's surface. And what penalty or consequences should be administered._________________The TinMan

Hi Tinman,
Many years ago, we had a situation like this in a tournament. During the finals, the referee was being abused after he gave a player a warning to move the puck. The player yelled at the ref for the next 20 seconds obviously distracting his opponent and scoring 2 goals during the diatribe.

There was nothing in our rule book to address that situation.

For the next year's tournament we brought in a "penalty shot for abusing the board or abusing the referee to be called at the referee's discretion."

There were three possible outcomes...

1) player accepts the penalty shot call and we all move on
2) player refuses to accept the call and walks out on his own steam
3) player refuses to accept, refuses to leave, and could be disqualified.

As it turned out, in the next year's final, with the puck in goalie box with the opposing center bearing down on an open net, the same player lifted the board 4", pulling the game off its moorings and off the double backed tape holding the game to the table.

A penalty shot was awarded for equipment abuse, it was taken and missed. Play then continued and the player calmed down for the remainder of the tournament knowing the next outburst would lead to disqualification.